Critical Materials

Critical materials, such as rare-earth elements, lithium, cobalt, and nickel, are essential for advanced manufacturing, energy technologies, and national security. Argonne leads efforts to strengthen America’s critical material supply chain resilience through fundamental and applied research, strategic partnerships, and breakthrough technologies.

Argonne integrates advanced analytics, electrochemical innovations, and recycling technologies to identify vulnerabilities, improve material recovery rates, and support a closed-loop supply chain. Through initiatives like the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Facility (METALLIC) project, Argonne collaborates with eight other national labs to develop new extraction and processing methods to enhance the domestic supply of critical materials. The DOE has also established two programs that aim to reduce dependence on foreign supply sources: the ReCell Center, led by Argonne, focuses on battery recycling processes that recover and reuse critical minerals to improve domestic circularity; and the Enhanced Validation of Advanced Battery Supply Chains (EVALS) program, a consortium between Argonne, Idaho National Laboratory, and NREL, focuses on the role of improving domestic mining supplies of critical battery materials. Argonne also conducts fundamental research to improve key steps in critical materials recycling, such as increasing critical material loading capacity in separations processes. This fundamental research leverages Argonne’s unique scientific capabilities, including the Advanced Photon Source and its leadership computing facilities.

Our multidisciplinary teams leverage solution thermodynamics, multiscale simulation, electrochemistry, characterization, and materials science to pioneer more efficient and selective recovery and purification methods. Argonne works closely with academic and industry partners, other national labs, and government agencies to assess risks, develop scalable recycling and extraction technologies, and create robust pathways to address the critical material challenges of today and the future.

Argonne’s work is critical for bolstering domestic manufacturing capabilities, promoting the affordability of modern energy technologies, and ensuring national security through advanced defense systems.